Canes Set to Meet Rival Gators

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Carson Beck didn’t grow up in South Florida and has only been with the Hurricanes since January.

The quarterback still has a pretty deep understanding of what the Miami-Florida rivalry is.

In fact, Beck once figured he might be a part of it – as a Gator.

“Actually, I think most people know this, but I was actually committed to Florida my freshman year of high school for baseball, not football,” Beck shared this week. “So, that was always kind of the plan of what I kind of wanted to do when I was younger, go there and play football and baseball. Obviously, as you get older, things change.”

They most certainly do.

Beck, a sixth-year redshirt senior, never made it to Gainesville. Instead, the Jacksonville native spent the first five years of his college career at another one of UF’s rivals: Georgia.

In January, Beck made the decision to transfer to Miami and brought with him the knowledge of just what kind of challenge Florida could pose when they come to Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday night to face No. 4 Miami (3-0).

“You look at this defense, and you look at their [defensive] coordinator and what he does, and they challenge you,” said Beck, who has already started two games against the Gators during his college career. “They do things that try to mess with your protection. They do things where it’s a lot of match coverage and every throw is contested. But they also can mix it up and play different types of zones. They’re very multiple on defense and they do their job well. They play very fast. They’re physical, obviously a great [defensive] line, good secondary, good [linebackers]. … Again, it’s a really good defense and they’ve shown that this year in the three games that they’ve played. It’s going to be a challenge for us, but we’re excited to accept that challenge and go out and execute on Saturday. “

Beck, of course, isn’t the only Hurricane eager to get on the field and face the Gators (1-2).

Defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. is a Miami native with deep ties to the Hurricanes program.

Last August, he took the field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium when Miami traveled to Gainesville for its season opener against the Gators. But Bain was hurt on the game’s opening drive and unfortunately, wasn’t able to provide much more than encouragement and support to his teammates during Miami’s 41-17 win.

Now healthy, Bain has emerged as one of the leaders on Miami’s defense. He has a team-high 15 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble.

And like the rest of his Miami teammates, he’s eager for the latest installment of the Miami-Florida rivalry.

“It was very frustrating,” Bain said, of getting hurt and having to miss the bulk of last season’s game against the Gators. “But last year was last year. We’re just focused on this year and I’m super excited for the chance to just go out there and play football again. Very healthy, just play the brand of football that I want to play. It’s an amazing opportunity. I get to just do something again for another week.”

The Hurricanes know that while there’s plenty of excitement for Saturday’s game – both ESPN College GameDay and ACC Huddle will be featuring the rivalry showdown – their opponent poses a unique challenge.

Florida is coming into the game after back-to-back losses to USF and LSU. The Gators have dropped out of the national rankings and quarterback DJ Lagway had one of the worst outings of his career throwing five interceptions against the Tigers last week in Baton Rouge.

But Miami’s players and coaches know the kind of talent Florida has on its roster and they understand full well the Gators would love nothing more than to come to Hard Rock Stadium and upset the Hurricanes in an effort to get their season righted.

“The part that has to be respected most is their talent level, their coaching, their size, speed, physicality,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said. “Schematically, they’re very challenging in a lot of different ways. They were playing elite defense for several games, [going] back to last season and offensively, they’ve been very close on several occasions to having some great performances. It’s very clear they’re an extremely talented team, they’re well coached, they play hard, and for us, it’s a great opportunity.”

Added Hurricanes running back Mark Fletcher Jr., “Last year, it was fun doing that. It was fun. But I’m pretty sure those guys, they’re coming here to play football. That’s a very well-coached team. Those guys fly around. [They’re] extremely talented on both sides of the football. So, we just have to be on our A game and we’re ready for the challenge.”

Through three games, Fletcher and Beck have been two of the biggest offensive playmakers for Miami.

Against USF last week, Fletcher posted his first 100-yard performance since his freshman year in 2023. He’s found the end zone twice in each of Miami’s wins over Bethune-Cookman and the Bulls and has totaled 272 yards on 42 carries.

Beck, meanwhile, leads the nation with a 79.3 completion percentage. He’s thrown for 812 yards and nine touchdowns with two interceptions, and he’s been effective and efficient distributing the ball to Miami’s playmakers. Through three games, 14 different Hurricanes have caught a pass either from Beck, or reserve quarterback Emory Williams.

All of that – and an experienced, potent offensive line – has helped Miami average 486.0 yards and 40.3 points per game and there’s no doubt the Hurricanes want to see that kind of production continue, especially when playing an in-state rival like Florida.

“We always know that anybody can go in there and get the job done. It’s just all about when your name is called upon, so everybody just stays ready, stays locked in,” Fletcher said. “That goes for each position on offense, and we know anybody [could] get in there and get the job done, so we try to just do that.”